The Bravery of a Knight
by The6thAnon
Summary: Forte and Valerie have settled into their new life together, but a ghost interrupts their peace and kidnaps Forte. Now they face an enemy that will truly test the capabilities of these two knights. Forterie. Forte/OC
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Forte!" Valerie stuck her head out from behind the bookcase they had just installed in their small home. "Dinner's almost ready." Forte slipped her helmet off and shook her head to free her hair. Valerie laughed behind her hand. "You know, you always look like you're trying to shake off some effect when you do that. Like shaking your head would get rid of poison or something."

"Ah, I wish. But not even the strongest knight could dispel an enemy's sting with a shake of their head." She set the rest of her armor aside and surveyed the room, a soft smile on her face. "What's for dinner?"

"Your favorite winter dish—stew!" Valerie said with a smile, uncovering the pot from the stove. Forte laughed quietly to herself.

"And to think there was a time I did not come home to you…"

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, just muttering to myself," the knight replied. But Valerie caught the tinge of a blush on the other girl's cheeks and could not help herself from mirroring it. She ladled the stew into two bowls and carried them to the table.

"Dinner is served." She looked at Forte. Her hair was a little ruffled, a few strands sticking up. Just like it had been when they first met…

"_Are you OK?" Valerie had asked, instantly wondering where she got the courage to talk to the cutie. She shuffled, moving her feet closer together._

"_Y-Yes!" The knight said, her helmet between her hands. "I just thought I felt something in here." She shook it vigorously until a tiny bug fell out. "Oh. I thought it was something much more deadly." _ _They stood there for a moment and started laughing._

"_I'm Forte, knight and guardian of Selphia." She presented an armored hand for the other girl to shake._

"_I'm Valerie, the new knight-in-training. Would you be able to show me to the training center?"_

"What are you thinking about?" The other girl murmured.

"Oh! Um, you," she said, running a hand through her tousled brown hair. "And life. Do you ever think about how firsts always seem more important in hindsight? It's like we can't fully value things until we've passed them."

"Oh _Valerie_, you know how you get when you talk about philosophy." But she smiled and gave her answer anyway. They were like that, the two of them, able to flutter between the light-hearted and the serious.

But their peace was not unnoticed.

The pair had just finished putting the dishes away when their candlelight flickered. Valerie ignored it, but Forte stood still, her hand instinctively going to her hip.

"Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything," Valerie replied, but she looked at her girlfriend a second longer, concern etching lines into her face. "Forte, you don't need to worry. You're strong, and I'll—"

"You'll protect me. I know." The knight smiled, but Valerie could tell she was still worried. She put her hand in Forte's and squeezed once.

"That's right. And step one is making sure you get some rest." Valerie made sure Forte was settled and snuggled beside her. They were asleep soon, and all of Selphia turned off their lights and turned back their covers to join them.

A shadow crept inside the window of the house. It stayed by the bed for a while as if pondering who would make the most appropriate target, then shrunk and pushed itself into Forte's heart. The creature's tail disappeared into her chest with a squelch, and Forte gasped. She disappeared in an explosion of muted light, and Valerie woke up just in time to see a portal close.

"No!" She snatched at the portal, but it was too late. "Forte! Forte, where are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Shh, easy now. You almost hit your head last night." Valerie woke up and rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"What happened?"

"You were frantic," the doctor replied. "Running around and yelling Forte's name. Wait, hold on—" Valerie ignored Dr. Jones's warning and sat up, pressing a hand against her forehead.

"Just tell me how to get to her."

"Well, hey, just a minute now! I can't answer that, and you need to stay here a while."

"I need," she said, cold certainty turning her voice hard, "to get to Forte."

"But you don't even know what happened!"

_The portal closed, the black around its edges disappearing into the air…the last syllable of Forte's scream fading and echoing, echoing, echoing—_

Valerie closed her eyes. "I remember enough." She forced herself out of the doctor's care, stopping only so he could press some recovery potions and bandages in her hand. She walked to the Native Dragon a bit unsteadily and asked her for advice.

"But you are scared, aren't you?" The girl took a deep breath and stared at the dragon.

"I have to be a knight now. I cannot be scared."

"Forte is a knight, and she is scared sometimes. Even if she will not admit it. She has admitted it to you, I believe." Valerie shook her head to dispel the memories of Forte's uncertainty. They were always the most painful to relive.

"Of course I am scared! But I have to get rid of that now." The dragon sighed and directed the girl to get a few provisions and ended with a flamboyant shout.

"Aw, Valerie! I'll miss you."

"Enough with the affection," the girl said, but warmth seeped from the edges of her voice. "Just tell me what I need to do." The dragon pulled a stone from under her wing. It glowed with a dark energy that crackled when Valerie reached out to touch it.

"Careful! It's dangerous." She snatched her hand back, but just barely, as if hesitating in her retreat.

Valerie eased her feet into a more secure stance and shifted her fingers on her sword. She swung it at the stone and clenched her eyes shut.

"I'll save you, Forte!" She disappeared in flash of light, and the portal closed, leaving the first rays of sun the job of making Selphia a little more illuminated.

The dragon shook her head sadly. "Forte won't be the Forte you know when you get there, Valerie." She shifted her wings and revealed an identical stone, barely letting out sparks. "I just couldn't tell you yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Valerie wiped a hand over her forehead and stopped to look around. The journey had sucked a lot of the energy out of her—the whole wildly-catapulting-through-space adventure didn't seem like the kind of thing that got easier with preparation. Valerie shuddered at the thought of Forte here at night…cold and alone and without any sense of direction.

Valerie swallowed and did her best to put that thought out of her mind. _Forte is fine_, she told herself. _She is a brave, capable knight, and I am just here to make sure she gets back home safely_. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel something was off about the atmosphere of the place.

She was surrounded by ruins. Rock stood in rugged piles, broken columns lining the edges of where the building once stood. Valerie could imagine it had been a great castle once, filled with a righteous king and hundreds of loyal servants.

Suddenly, the path beneath her feet shook. Faint shapes rose from the tile, surrounding her. Valerie yanked at her sword, but before she could take her first strike, she felt herself being lifted into the air. Invisible chains clutched at her arms, and wind started to pick up around her.

"No! F-Forte!" Valerie cried out and gave her sword one blind twist as a last resort. She heard a clang and the chains grabbing at her wrists her loosened. The wind stopped and Valerie fell to the ground. She scrambled up, panting. After a minute of shaking her sword at the air, Valerie had to admit that the space around her was empty.

She gingerly sat on the remains of a pediment and examined her sword. It looked unharmed, despite the contact that had shaken her to her bones. She regained her health with a quick snack and decided there was nothing else to do but to enter the castle. She knew it wasn't abandoned—the creatures that had bound her could have been any numbers of things. If her enemy had mastered concealment spells, they would certainly be challenging to beat. But Valerie remembered the outline of the _thing_ that had entered her darling knight's heart. It looked wispy and undefined, like a—

"ghost…" Valerie swallowed. At first, Forte had tried to keep her fear of the supernatural hidden. But one night, a ghost had breached the protection of the guards and almost entered their home. How Forte had jumped that night! Right into her arms, in fact.

She blushed and shook her head vigorously. This was not the time! She gritted her teeth and took her first few steps past the cracked doors.

"I'm coming, Forte. Hang in there."

"Where did she go?!" The townspeople demanded of Ventuswill. "Please, tell us where Forte and Valerie are!"

"Silence!" The dragon commanded. "I cannot answer all of your questions at once. Please, our two much-loved knights are simply vanquishing evil as usual. Do not worry. They will return soon." The townspeople left, muttering to one another. The Native Dragon could tell she had not convinced them, but there had not been time to come up with a convincing argument.

She signaled to Arthur and set a simple barrier by the doors.

"I suspect their journey was unplanned?" The dragon nodded gravely and pushed the two stones from her hiding place. The would-be prince gasped and took a step back. "When did these first appear?"

"Last night, when the ghost took possession of Forte."

"Possession…" Arthur held out his hand and tentatively reached for the stones. One of them crackled with energy. "Is that connected to-?"

"Valerie. Its companion belongs to Forte." Arthur could not speak for a moment.

"And you're sure?"

"You, of all people, are going to question my judgment? Now?"

"I have never seen a possession this quick! Forgive me, Lady Ventuswill, but this is truly worrying."

"The ghost feeds on fear. Forte's greatest fear is the weakness she has when she faces spectral enemies. Once she learned a ghost has resided in her heart, the fear spread. She has very little time." Arthur swallowed.

"I can help, but only a little." He pulled a pouched out of a deep pocket and drew out a small stone. Ventuswill's eyes widened but she said nothing. He put it by Forte's and tapped it gently with a dagger. "May my protection reach you in time, brave knight."

He took a few steps back and bowed. "If you'll forgive me, there are preparations that need to be made."

"Preparations?"

"Certainly you did not think we would let our enemy come back like this. I will write to other royal families and tell them to ready their men for battle."

"No! I mean…I pray you wait. This enemy is unlike those we have faced before. It can only be defeated by those it inhabits and the ones closest to them."

"You mean—"

"Yes. It is up to Valerie and Forte now." He nodded.

"I pray their training has readied them for this." Lady Ventuswill lifted the barrier and he took his leave.

Behind him, the three stones sparked with energy. The dragon folded her wings. All she could do now was wait.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Valerie stepped into the castle, the air around her picked up and turned dark. It was as if the dirt on the floor had sewn itself into a curtain—a living, breathing, flying curtain. She ducked as the darkness approached. It flew over her head with a whistle and sealed the entrance, puncturing the sound of wind with a slam. She turned her head and instantly wished she didn't. There was only darkness behind her. Forward wasn't much better; a seemingly endless corridor stretched until it narrowed to a point.

It was calm for a moment. Small ghosts began to ooze out of the tiles, and Valerie readied her sword. Her pace picked up at the thought of fighting such slippery enemies, but she swallowed her fear and loosened her stance. These ghosts were small—and visible. They would not be hard to beat.

She jumped and swung her sword through one of them. It dissipated into white particles and the rest shrank back. Valerie let half a smile creep over her face. Sure, she didn't know what the next room of enemies would hold, but she could handle these. She twisted and slashed her sword through two of them and chased the last one down with a jab.

"Who's next?" She asked, her breathing only a little strained. The ground started to shake and she took a step back. "Who's there?" She shouted, pushing her voice to reach the edges of the hall. She spun, feeling the pressure of being watched. There appeared to be no source until she felt a bolt of magic scrape her side. "Where are you?" She cried out. She heard the creature that attacked her take a gulp of air. The room was silent for a moment, save Valerie's quick footsteps as she shifted her position and anticipated another attack.

"Where—"

The monster cut her off by releasing a howl. The tips of Valerie's hair that escaped her helmet flew back at the sheer pressure of the wind. Valerie felt her heart sink. She knew what her enemy was. It was a ghost, and she couldn't even see it.

Nevertheless, she had to try.

Valerie straightened her helmet with one hand and narrowed her eyes at the source of the wind. "You can't defeat me!" She screamed. The girl fought valiantly, but the ghost had an edge. It shot magic at her and teleported to different places in the room; as soon as Valerie felt she knew where to attack, something would strike her from behind and she would stumble, disoriented.

The magical attacks kept wearing her down. None of them were big enough to stop her, but she couldn't be sure she was even hitting the beast. She sliced at the empty air, panting. If she could just hold out long enough, she would make it…

A bolt of lightning hit her in the back and she fell to the floor. Her sword clattered a few feet away; Valerie frowned. She couldn't remember letting go of her sword. She rolled onto her stomach and inched toward it. Magic started to crackle behind her and she knew she wouldn't get there in time.

A wave of purple light streamed through the room, dissolving the attack and pushing against the ghost. Valerie felt her energy and health refill, and she was back on her feet with the sword in her hand in an instant. Its RP drained, the ghost let go of its invisibility, and Valerie could see its shape.

It was huge, at least ten feet over her head—and Forte lay motionless at its tip.

"Forte!" She gripped her sword and ran at the ghost. "I'll protect you!"

The purple stone by Ventuswill's claws sent a wave through the room. It collided with her scales and she let out a small groan. Arthur burst into the room and reached for the stone. The dragon held out a wing and stopped him from coming any closer.

"Lady Ventuswill! Are you OK?"

"Of course I am!" She gritted her teeth against the unpleasant feeling of having her energy drained. It wasn't enough to harm her, but it wasn't easy for her to relinquish her strength when she spent so much time guarding it. "_You _certainly shouldn't try to take this burden." Arthur took a step back, then motioned to her surroundings.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?"

"Yes, I am fine. I'm sure you have paperwork to do." He hesitated. "Go! We need to keep the town running." He bowed slightly and retreated. Ventuswill shifted herself slightly. "Work fast, Valerie," she whispered, looking at the cold, black stone. "Forte doesn't have much time."


End file.
